Spider-Son & Iron Dad one shots

Something Old

Spooktober.06

⚠️sad, whoops⚠️

Peter Parker, if not someone with a mild case of legal kleptomania, was someone who loved to collect old things that other people did not want or need any more.

If May could pinpoint when this started happening, she would say it was right about when Peter first settled into their home, years before.

He never wanted to leave Ben or May's side at first. He never wanted them to leave for work, and he certainly didn't want to leave them to go to school or daycare in the mornings.

May understood why, of course. She can't imagine losing her parents at such a young age, and she could only pray and hope to provide the best life for the little kid so he grew up okay.

So, she read the books. She talked to the doctors, when she was able. She and Ben talked to anybody they could, trying to think of ways to help the kiddo.

One morning, before Peter was tearfully about to go to his kindergarten class, she kneels down beside him. "Hey, Peter. I've got a nice gift for you, does that sound good?"

Peter looks at her nervously but nods, chewing his wobbling lip as he holds back shiny tears. "Yeah."

May reached into her purse and pulled out a pair of gloves. "These are your Uncle Ben's. He said you could wear them today at school. It would be like you're carrying him around with you, right? Won't that be cool?"

Peter carefully takes the gloves, holding them oh-so gently in his clammy kid hands, and then hugs them to his chest. He nods. "Yeah. I think so."

May smiles softly and runs a hand through his hair. "That's good. You carry those gloves, okay? You're never alone, Peter. I'll pick you up after school. I'll be right here."

Peter held the gloves the entire day, and did so for the rest of Kindergarten.

It had helped wonderfully, and Peter soon became comfortable enough where he didn't need to worry or panic when anybody left the room or apartment. Once second grade rolled around, the gloves remained in his dresser every day.

May really did try her best to raise the kid. She never planned on being a mother. But her brother-in-law and his wife showed up at their door step, holding a curly-haired boy with big scared eyes, and May knew then. She knew that she needed to help the most she could.

Ben was a natural with kids, Peter especially. He showed him movies and taught him life lessons and seemed to understand the boy's mind when May could not.

Which made it even more devastating when the storm came once again, when Peter was thirteen going on fourteen. The rainy night where the police showed up at the door, and Peter was standing beside them with the same scared look in his eyes.

May did the best she could to stay sturdy. She'd like to think she did a damn good job of it, too. She was strong, picking up multiple jobs, checking in on Peter daily, swallowing her grief the best that she could for days until she would finally let herself cry in the late hours of the night.

She was strong, yes. But strength wasn't enough for Peter. She noticed how he closed himself off. He barely brought friends over, he buried himself in school work, and he started requesting that May text him everytime she gets to a destination, just so he knows she got there safe.